In early December of 2010 a new, free online organization and resource emerged for auto technicians. AutoTechnician.org developed a website promoting qualified automotive technicians. The site was created by automotive technicians for automotive technicians.

AutoTechnician.org was founded by a group of journeyman automotive technicians and some of the industry’s best technical minds and instructors. The goal is simple: find really good tech and promote them to the public.

When I asked the founder, John Kelly why their group started this, he said “because people need to realize just how difficult it is for a good tech to do this job with such a high level of expectation and accountability for one’s safety while worrying about getting paid enough to have food on the table next week! We’ve thought about this website for years and it’s a way for us to help others through my own experience. Let those techs who do it right have a new way to get customers into their shops.”

The benefit to a directory member is the ability to fully profile their experience, work location and all certifications/licenses. The auto technician directory is also designed to be freely searchable however visitors do need to sign in to access a member’s complete profile and location, or to leave feedback.

The best part of AutoTechnician.org’s directory is technicians can receive customer feedback and be rated from one to five stars within their profile listing. Anyone familiar with feedback on eBay will recognize the importance of this feature. The directory will serve every member as an online professional track record that’s searchable by prospective consumers in need of a professional to service their vehicles.

There is one catch though, but it’s a valid one. Any technician wanting to register into the directory must first take a free 25 question test to qualify for membership. The test is taken online and graded immediately upon completion. The test consists of all multiple choice questions and was developed by the founder and contributors. It is based on the more difficult aspects of automotive repair – diagnostics. There is a two hour time limit for the test but each is granted three attempts to pass. John said the average time needed by testers so far is about 20 minutes. A grade of 80% or better is required to pass.

The test is AutoTechnician.org’s method to help filter through mechanics and technicians who just may not be experienced enough to perform top level services such as diagnostics due to lack of experience or education. Testing also promotes the need for technician continuing education and self-improvement. In a field where technical information is crucial, research and reading/comprehension skills are critical to successful and speedy diagnosis and repair on today’s vehicles.

The organization and website directory is still in its infancy stages at the moment but according to founder, John Kelly, the buzz about it has bought hundreds of curious visitors and technicians within its first week of operation so fast growth is expected in 2011.

Please help support AutoTechnician.org’s cause by letting every technician you know about it. The larger it grows, the more it will help everyone in the repair field and their communities. They can be found on twitter as @AutoTechnicians.